When my phone connects to a WiFi router it shows up on the lease list as “android-27d9d076ec79ad” This is obviously a unique name and serves the purpose. As the person managing the WIfi router, however, I see plenty of device names that are very helpful such as ‘Toms-iPhone.’ The Googling I have done turned up a set of instructions that directs a menu choice that is not there and instruction that change the Bluetooth name but have no effect on the name that shows up on the WiFi lease in the router. Can someone enlighten me?

I may be able to assign an alias on a router but my phone connects to multiple routers and I would prefer to fix the problem at the source to have it work with all routers. There are clear directions for changing the name of an android device online but the Moto X phone does not have the required menu choice. Is this perhaps, something that Republic Wirelss has eliminated because it relies on the phone name to never change?

You should have the option to change the IDs as the manager of the routers as billg said. Sounds like you’re trying to make you job easier by finding a way for you clients to do their own changes? Understandable when dealing with many devices accessing your routers. If you find a way please let us know. Thanks.

Is this perhaps, something that Republic Wirelss has eliminated because it relies on the phone name to never change?

I do not believe so. This has all the hallmarks of a phone manufacturer’s implementation and nothing to do with Republic.

billg:

I found instructions for this. They work on my S7 but not on my SO’s X2. It might be a Lollipop shortcoming.

Based on limited research on my part, it appears to be an Android “shortcoming”. Like you, I’m easily able to change the name on a Samsung phone. I can find no means of doing so on a Moto X Pure (Nougat), a Moto E2 (Lollipop), a Moto E4+ (Nougat) an Alcatel A30 (Nougat) or Huawei Ascend 5W (Marshmallow). It appears the manufacturer must add (or expose) this setting.

Did a search late last night and found the same basic info as rolandh and billg. There were several results suggesting it could be done on other individual devices through a root and a myriad of settings. One of the results suggested it was available via OS through KitKat.

Does Republic Wireless have “Pull” with Motorola so that they can request that the name setting be exposed? I am personally reluctant to raise the issue with Motorola because I know that Republic Wireless modifies the functionality of the phone as supplied by the manufacturer. How would one go about making such a request?

Apperanly Samsung is the only OEM that Republic uses that have this feature (I found a link to both Nexus and Pixel forums that are asking the same thing)
seeing how he ask if Republic could lean on Motorola to add it I’m asumming he using a Moto phone.

I’m personaly dumbfounded as to how Google hasn’t put this in the base Android build (looks like there an app or 2 that will do this but they require root {note the root app post are old so they may not even work on new OS phones})

I’m personaly dumbfounded as to how Google hasn’t put this in the base Android build

It may have been a feature that wasn’t carried forward? Due to security issues?

It’s just a thought, users being able to easily change their phone’s ID or hijacking other device names could cause more router security management issues. If slack and only relying on device names it could be more difficult to ID a problem child.

Are you certain none of them do? One of my web search results when opened and read suggested that some former versions of Android as late as Kitkat allowed the name to be changed easily. That was what was meant.

I found 2 threads for Google’s phones complaining about this 1 dealing with Nexus 5 and Android 4.2/4.4 and the others thread dealing with the newer pixels, otherwise and Apple, Samsung, and HTC phones I don’t see any that been able to do this